As the event approached, I started getting back in touch with different friends from high school and enjoyed reminiscing about four of the most eventful years of my life. Overall, when I think of my years at MacArthur High School, I remember that we had a total blast. Jeff asked me if I was popular. I wasn't sure how to answer... I was popular, in a different kind of way. I mean, I had a lot of friends, and fit into a lot of different crowds, but you would never find me on the homecoming court. Or in anything that involved a dress for that matter.
- I remembered Freshman volleyball, practicing at like 6am every morning. Two-a-days. Man, were we in good shape back then.
- I remember Varsity volleyball... I wasn't as nervous about the crowds and the games as I was about being made fun of while dancing to the "Tootsie Roll" in the locker room beforehand. [It's funny, my niece Lacey (16) played the "Tootsie Roll" for me and asked if I had ever heard that song!]
Nicki Harris, Mac volleyball teammate turned attorney
- I remember having some really bad haircuts. Really bad. Virginia was kind enough to bring a scrapbook of pics in case anyone had forgotten any of them.
- I remember skipping school so often that I attended the maximum number of Saturday School days Northeast would allow. On that very last day - the last make-up Saturday School day of the year, I had received two strikes for falling asleep. One more strike and I would not have graduated high school. It was the longest day of my life.
- I remember my first day back at school after my bad car accident late Junior Year. I couldn't walk, and everyone thought I was playing a practical joke. Laura laughed when she first saw me!
Laura and hubby Travis, parents to two of Jack's closest buds, Grant and Jake.
- I remember hitting a fire hydrant with my Nissan and telling Mom that someone must have hit my car and left the scene.
- I remember writing something..um...inappropriate... on a note and passing it to John Kimbrough. When Mrs. Heston asked me for it, I almost panicked because I knew what it said. So I crumbled it up, stuck it in my mouth and ate it. I swallowed the whole wad of paper. It has become a classic "Melissa" story that was told at the reunion a few times.
Blake Ewing, and fiancee Julie, who had already heard the note-eating story before we even met.
- I remember being voted "Wittiest" in the Sr. class and accepting the award (and huge painted wooden "M") at the Senior Prom, with Garrett as my date. We took the worst Prom picture that night! Thanks, Virginia, for including it in your scrapbook.
Garrett and me at dinner before the reunion
- I remember getting into a trivial argument with Amy Degollado in the Girls' Gym. If I could have found a way to talk to her about it back then, maybe it would not have been 10 years since I have seen her. I have missed her. When you are 17, you don't realize life is too short to sweat those small things. I wish she had made it to the reunion...
- Dad and Trey moved away and Mom and I moved into an apartment together. Mom and I drove every Friday night to Houston and back to watch Trey play, and see Dad coach the Westfield Mustangs football team. I remember crying at the National Anthem at one of his games.
- The volleyball team moms "kidnapped" each of us at like 6am one morning and took us to a breakfast party at Leigh Anne Owens' house to kick-off the season. I wondered why Mom had insisted on making me clean my room that night before - out of nowhere.
- I remember making tons and tons of copies and T-shirts for Gerald's ska band, The Resistors, while I worked at Kinko's. Ironic that I am now in Human Resources, where we counsel folks for misuse of company resources.
- I remember looking forward each year to Trinity Baptist Church Camp. I was in some super-embarrassing skits, the worst of which included me and Virginia hosting a fashion show wearing matching Kinkos' aprons, fishing hats, and Mickey Mouse pajamas. Nothing would embarrass me back then. Nothing.
Virginia flew in from California and stayed with me for a few nights. I loved introducing her to Jack Everett.
- I remember like 15 of us spending the night at Garrett's or Blake's house making murder mystery videos, or sketch comedy videos. We'd watch them over and over. I was the WORST actress every time.
- I remember Mom setting up and scheduling huge (one time overnight) ping-pong tournaments at my house and even having brackets and prizes. I also remember that she won every time.
We enjoyed dinner at La Posada Del Rey before the reunion. Seven out of these ten people have been beaten at least once by my Mom, "Mrs. Lynch", in ping-pong. The other three have never played her.
- I remember sitting with Dad on the bench of MacArthur basketball games keeping stats. I would give Blake and Garrett extra assists and rebounds because they were my faves. I think Coach Lynch knew it. I remember Dad saying some embarrassing things to the team, which consisted mostly of my closest guy friends.
High School was such a fun time for me. We stayed out late, stayed out often, and really stayed out of trouble. I had tons of guy friends, but never a boyfriend. (Everyone's lined up to date the crazy football coach's daughter!) I try to tell my nieces that it's the best way to enjoy high school. Lots of love, but no broken hearts. No drama, no commitments, no pressures. At the reunion, several people laughed... they never thought I'd be the first to marry and have a baby.
I am so glad I went to the reunion. (Yes, I lost about 17 pounds for the occasion.) It was fun to relive high school memories, get back in touch with old friends, take time to remember where I came from, and quite honestly, realize I haven't changed that much after all.
Virginia and I put on our MacArthur Reunion T-shirts for one last pic just before 3:00 am. She had to leave for the airport at 5:30am. We are too old for these late nights.
To see all 60 pics from the Reunion: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=s5k5l03.6uftec8n&Uy=-n5mxu5&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0
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